Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Summary

Understanding the Political World is a dynamic and accessible introduction to the fascinating world of politics and the ways in which political scientists attempt to describe and explain it. Using a strong comparative framework, the text links the central analytical concepts of political science that have emerged over decades of research to the realities of the political world of the early 21st century. With a highly-praised art program and lively boxed features, Understanding the Political World engages students as it encourages them to think like political scientists. The Fifth Edition has been thoroughly updated so that students have the information and tools they need to think about the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.

Table of Contents

Boxed Features

xiii

Preface

xv

To the Reader

xix

About the Author

xxi

PART ONE On Knowing the Political World

1

(22)

Politics and Knowledge

3

(20)

On Politics

3

(2)

Types of Political Knowledge

5

(3)

Description

6

(1)

Explanation

7

(1)

Prescription

8

(1)

Sources of Political Knowledge

8

(5)

Authority

8

(4)

Personal Thought

12

(1)

Science

13

(1)

Political Science

13

(4)

Political ``Science''?

17

(3)

Criticisms of Political Science as a ``Science''

17

(2)

Political Science as a Means of Understanding the Political World

19

(1)

Where Is This Book Going?

20

(1)

For Further Consideration

21

(1)

For Further Reading

21

(2)

PART TWO Political Behavior

23

(76)

Political Beliefs

25

(22)

Individual Political Beliefs

25

(2)

Belief Systems

27

(4)

Belief Systems among Mass Publics

28

(2)

Belief Systems among Elites

30

(1)

Political Culture

31

(2)

National Character Studies

31

(1)

Survey Research

32

(1)

Political Ideology

33

(11)

Key Issues

35

(1)

Conservatism

36

(1)

Classical Liberalism

37

(2)

Socialism

39

(2)

Some Further Points about ``Isms''

41

(3)

Looking Ahead

44

(1)

For Further Consideration

44

(1)

For Further Reading

44

(3)

Political Actions

47

(24)

Individual Political Actions

48

(6)

Modes of Political Activity

48

(1)

Political Activists

49

(2)

Political Participation Studies

51

(3)

Group Political Actions

54

(1)

Political Interest Groups

55

(6)

Activities of Political Interest Groups

55

(3)

Constraints on a Group's Behavior

58

(1)

Types of Interest Groups

59

(2)

Political Parties

61

(4)

Activities of Political Parties

61

(4)

Doing Politics

65

(1)

For Further Consideration

65

(4)

For Further Reading

69

(2)

Influences on Beliefs and Actions

71

(28)

The Environment

72

(3)

Agents of Political Socialization

75

(10)

The Family

75

(1)

The Schools

76

(2)

Peer Groups

78

(1)

The Media and Culture

78

(6)

Events

84

(1)

Personal Traits

85

(2)

Political ``Personality''

87

(8)

Personality

89

(5)

Human Nature

94

(1)

Concluding Observations

95

(2)

For Further Consideration

97

(1)

For Further Reading

98

(1)

PART THREE Political Systems

99

(110)

States and Nations

101

(26)

The State

101

(6)

A Legal Definition

102

(1)

A Structural-Functional Definition

103

(3)

The Domain of State Action

106

(1)

The Nation

107

(5)

The Political System

112

(11)

Systems in General

112

(1)

The Political System Defined

112

(4)

Conceptualization of the Political System

116

(3)

System Persistence

119

(1)

The Utility of the Political Systems Approach

120

(3)

Three Major Concepts: A Reprise

123

(1)

For Further Consideration

124

(1)

For Further Reading

124

(3)

Political Institutions I: Structures

127

(24)

The Legislature

128

(8)

Roles of the Legislature

128

(3)

Structural Arrangements

131

(1)

The Decline of Legislatures

132

(4)

Executives

136

(4)

Roles of Executives

136

(2)

Structural Arrangements

138

(2)

The Age of the Executive?

140

(1)

The Administration

140

(4)

Bureaucracy as One Form of Administration

140

(1)

Administrative Functions and Power

141

(3)

The Judiciary

144

(3)

Aspects of Adjudication

144

(1)

Judicial Structures

145

(2)

Concluding Observations

147

(1)

For Further Consideration

147

(1)

For Further Reading

148

(3)

Political Institutions II: Institutional Arrangements

151

(34)

Broad Taxonomies

152

(1)

Democracies and Nondemocracies

152

(11)

Defining Democracy

153

(3)

Defining Nondemocracies

156

(4)

A Democracy-Nondemocracy Continuum

160

(3)

Constitutional and Nonconstitutional Regimes

163

(3)

Constitutions

163

(2)

Constitutional Regimes

165

(1)

Nonconstitutional Regimes

166

(1)

A Real Distribution of Power

166

(2)

Unitary State

166

(1)

Federation

167

(1)

Confederation

168

(1)

Forms of Executive-Legislative Relations

168

(7)

Presidential Government

169

(1)

Parliamentary (Cabinet) Government

170

(2)

Hybrid Systems

172

(1)

Council Systems

173

(1)

Assembly Systems

174

(1)

Which Form Is Optimal?

175

(1)

Political Party Systems

175

(7)

Two-Party Systems

175

(3)

Multiparty Systems

178

(1)

Dominant-Party Systems

179

(1)

One-Party Systems

180

(1)

No-Party Systems

180

(1)

Classification and Clarity

181

(1)

For Further Consideration

182

(1)

For Further Reading

182

(3)

Political Economy

185

(24)

Politics and Economics

185

(1)

A Political-Economic Framework

186

(5)

Factors, Firms, and Households/Consumers

186

(3)

Getting and Spending

189

(1)

The State (and the World) Join In

190

(1)

Two Ideal-Type Political Economies

191

(6)

The Market Economy: Total Private Control

194

(2)

The Command Economy: Total State Control

196

(1)

Key Problems for Each Ideal-Type Political Economy

197

(3)

Market Economy

197

(2)

Command Economy

199

(1)

The Mixed Economy

200

(1)

Politics Plus Political Economy: The Other ``Isms''

201

(5)

The Three ``Isms''

201

(1)

The Real World

202

(4)

Concluding Observations

206

(1)

For Further Consideration

207

(1)

For Further Reading

207

(2)

PART FOUR Political Processes

209

(70)

Politics as a Value Allocation Process

211

(20)

The Elite Approach

212

(3)

Key Concepts

212

(1)

Major Theorists

213

(1)

The Value Allocation Process

213

(1)

The Prevalence of Elite-based Political Systems

214

(1)

The Class Approach

215

(4)

The Group Approach

219

(6)

The Three Approaches Compared

225

(3)

Which Approach Is Correct?

225

(2)

Essential Similarities and Differences

227

(1)

For Further Consideration

228

(1)

For Further Reading

228

(3)

Change and Political Development

231

(26)

Change

232

(1)

Development

233

(11)

Characteristics of ``More Developed'' Social Systems

233

(2)

The Process of Development

235

(5)

The Dynamics of Economic Development

240

(4)

Political Development

244

(9)

Characteristics of Political Development

244

(1)

The Process of Political Development

245

(2)

Political Development as Democratization

247

(3)

Political Institutionalization and Political Decay

250

(3)

Achieving Political Development

253

(1)

For Further Consideration

254

(1)

For Further Reading

255

(2)

Political Violence

257

(22)

Violence

258

(1)

Political Society

259

(1)

Types of Political Violence

259

(16)

State Violence against Individuals or Groups

260

(1)

Individual Violence against an Individual

261

(1)

Group Violence against an Individual

262

(3)

Group Violence against a Group

265

(2)

Individual or Group Violence against the State

267

(8)

Evaluating Political Violence: Means and Ends

275

(1)

For Further Consideration

276

(1)

For Further Reading

277

(2)

PART FIVE Politics Among States

279

(160)

Politics between States

281

(30)

The Goals of States

282

(3)

Realist and Idealist Perspectives on the State's ``Motives''

282

(1)

Major Goals

283

(2)

Mechanisms of Cooperation between States

285

(7)

Diplomacy and Interstate Agreements

285

(1)

International Law

286

(3)

International Organizations

289

(3)

Competition among States

292

(7)

Balance of Power

292

(1)

Balance of Terror

293

(1)

Domination and Dependence

294

(4)

Competition in the Post-Cold War World

298

(1)

Violence between States

299

(8)

Threat of Force

301

(1)

Display of Force

301

(1)

Use of Force

301

(1)

War

302

(3)

What Causes War?

305

(1)

Is War Justifiable?

306

(1)

For Further Consideration

307

(1)

For Further Reading

308

(3)

The Developed Countries

311

(32)

An Introduction to the Next Three Chapters: Grouping the States in the Contemporary World